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Mamata Banerjee wants SC intervention over Ajit Pawar's death, suspects political link
“I came to know, someone from another party had given a statement that Ajit Pawar was willing to leave the BJP, and now this has happened today,” Bengal CM said
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded an investigation monitored by the Supreme Court into Maharashtra deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash at Baramati, and raised questions purportedly linking the incident to his political trajectory.
“Even political leaders are not safe in this country, let alone common people," she said in a public speech on Wednesday, a video of which was shared by news agency PTI, “I am deeply shocked to hear the news.”
She further said, “Two days ago, I came to know that someone from another party had given a statement that Ajit Pawar was willing to leave the BJP (ruling alliance in Maharashtra), and now this has happened today.”
Calling for court's supervision for the probe, she added, “We have trust only in the Supreme Court and no other agency. All (central) agencies have been completely compromised.”
“Today he (was) in the opposition, but tomorrow (read: in future) he was supposed to return to the original course of his party,” she further claimed, referring to plans that the NCP, split by Ajit in 2023, was set to become one party again.
Banerjee, one of the major faces of opposition to PM Narendra Modi-led BJP+ government at the Centre, expressed condolences to his family, the people of Maharashtra, and to Sharad Pawar, Ajit's uncle and the family patriarch.
Bengal is to go to polls soon, and Mamata's TMC is facing a challenge from the BJP in the state.
Ajit Pawar was among the five killed after an aircraft carrying them crashed in Baramati, in Maharashtra's Pune district, on Wednesday morning. The chartered jet, operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures, crash-landed at the airport. There were five people on board, including the crew members, according to aviation regulator DGCA.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also called for a probe, but did not make a political connection as such. "This has hurt everyone, including his family members, and we share their grief and pray that they can bear this loss," the Congress chief told reporters in the Parliament House complex in Delhi.
Asked about Mamata Banerjee's demanding a Supreme Court-monitored probe, Kharge said, “Everyone, all leaders, keep travelling for urgent work. But so many instances, we saw in Ahmedabad how a big plane crashed. This was a small plane, why this happened? It should be probed. We demand a probe.”
Earlier, in a post on X, the Congress chief said the news of Ajit Pawar's tragic death was deeply shocking and profoundly distressing.
"It is an untimely loss of a leader who had a long and promising political career ahead. No words can adequately express the immense grief that the bereaved family must be enduring during this difficult hour. I extend my deepest condolences to the entire Pawar family, his supporters and well-wishers," he said.
"Having served the people of Maharashtra in various constitutional capacities, Shri Ajit Pawar shall be remembered as a seasoned politician who discharged his responsibilities towards his people with sincerity and astuteness. May his soul rest in peace," Kharge said.
